St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1887-11-28
A TYPICAL FIRE EATER.
The Wonderful Record OF Aiexan-
der observation-disclosures Leads
to Suicide.

to Suicide.
A reader of town topics at Louisville,
KY. writes long argument i'll favor of
the duello as means of settling per
sonal disputes in his state. 1t may be,
as he holds, the thing for Kentucky,
but does it not suggest itself to him that
instead of making a law to license muir
der for the benefit of Kentucky, it would
be more reasonable for Kentucky to civ
lliZe herself up to the level of the states
that do not need to have murder legal
lied? The following picturesque pen
portrait of a typical Southern duelist,
from the correspondents letter, is well
worth reading.
Mrs. Clement G. Clay, widow of the
noted Alabama senator captured with
Jeff Davis. was concerned with the most
famous duelliSt the South ever produced
in the person of Alexander Mcclellan.
He was a native of Kentucky, who for
many years was prominent in politics
and society. He was an exquisite in
dress and manners, a brilliant speaker
and writer of tremendous power, pos
SesSing the keenest wit and sarcasm.
His attacks or the Van Buren, admins
tratiOn gave him national celebrity.
He killed a great many men during
his career. As all instance of his dead
illness, for he always killed the man he
fought, may be mentioned his duel with
Gen. Allen. of Mississippi. He had
heard that Allen made some sighting
remark about him. After Allen had ac-
cepted his challenge Mcclellan de-
clared that he would shoot out the
tongue that made the remark. The duel
was fought at forty PAGES with rifles,
and he literally cut Aliens tongue out
as he threatened.
One instance exhibits his courage.
One day he rode up to an inn in little
Mississippi town. While he was dis
mounting, a notorious bully and des-
peradO of that country, who had killed
many men and was the terror of that
region, was on the inside with his re-
volyer cooked and watch in his hand.
He had ordered the room cleared in five
minutes. and every man had gone, al
though all were fighting men. When
Mcclellan entered the bully faced him,
and with big oath Informed him of the
facts and that there were only three
minutes left before he should kill who
ever remained. Mcclellan, without
moving a muscle or drawing weapon,
produced his watch, glanced at it and
said:
MY name is Alexander Mcclellan. I
give YOU ltu StCOIluS W SCl Out VI
or you are dead man."
The fellow yelled out: ~
"By -, colonel, One-half of that
time will do" and he was out in two
seconds.
Later on he was haunted by remOrse.
Man-killing had left its pains. His
light was never out in his room at night,
and men said he slept not. When the
Mexican war broke out he told Rev.
Peter DOMAIN, father of the now only
Col. Peter. that he was weary with life;
that he had never found any one who
could kill him and he was going to bat
tie to seek death on the field, as he did
not want to commit suicide.
He entered the services as a yOlun-
teer, and from the first placed himself
in the front point OF danger. command
ing attention for his absolute bravery.
lie was promoted again and again until
he reached the head of regiment,
when he was shot through the body.
Then he returned home, saying he
couldn't be killed, and haZarded his
fate in several uuelS thereafter. He
grew more and more eccentric, and
thought his opponents abused his con-
fidence by not killing him. Then he
met Mrs. Clay, beautiful girl of her
time.
She describes him as the most fascin-
ating man to women she ever met, pos
sesSing that serpentine power over
women which historians and rOmancerS
attribute to Aaron Burr, the same
power that Matte Ould. of Virginia,
had over men. Mcclellan proposed
marriage to Mrs. Clay, but her friends
objected on account of his excessive
duelling prOpensities, and the fear that
she would be unhappy with him. She
asked him to wait six months before re-
plying, and during the interval did not